


Crayon Rainbows After Rain

by RubixaSeraph



Series: DMC Community Projects [7]
Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Office, Angst, Dadgil, Dante is a good brother, Family, Fluff, Kids growing up, Mentioned Character Death, Nero and V are brothers, Passage of time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:15:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26907226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RubixaSeraph/pseuds/RubixaSeraph
Summary: Take away the phantastical, the unimaginable, the inexplainable, and the extraordinary…Would that leave you with a plain, basic, predictable, and mediocre life?In a world where humanity’s worst enemy is the shadow within themselves, a “normal” life did mean sunshine after rainbows…For rainbows only come after rain.For DMC Week 2020, Day 7: AU | Free Day
Relationships: Dante & Vergil (Devil May Cry), Eva/Sparda (Devil May Cry), Kyrie/Nero (Devil May Cry), Nero & V (Devil May Cry), Nero & Vergil (Devil May Cry), Nero's Mother/Vergil (Devil May Cry), V & Vergil (Devil May Cry), Vergil (Devil May Cry)/Original Character(s)
Series: DMC Community Projects [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1953397
Comments: 2
Kudos: 25





	Crayon Rainbows After Rain

**Author's Note:**

> \- Welcome to a “prequel” to the events of my Office AU series: This is Not an Office Rom-Com.  
> \- For context, the “Office AU” series is a reader insert series where the eventual goal is a three-way ship of the reader with Vergil and Dante. But that’s not really touched on here.  
> \- More context: It wasn't relevant to the plot of this particular short, so I'll put it here: The setting is actually in America. (I usually vaguely write my DMC stuff set in Europe.) Reason being is because I'm more familiar with the educational system in the US, and this specific company workplace works off of what I know in the US. For all I know, civil engineering inspections have different regulations, codes, and certs in different countries. (Heck even in different cities within a country.)  
> \- Follow up context: Ancestry-wise, the Sparda family are immigrants from Italy a couple of generations ago. Eva immigrated recently from the UK, a development that happened because she fell in love when she went to study abroad in the US. And we pretend that white hair from birth is a normal trait. It's just rare.  
> \- Additional context: Keep in mind that, for this AU, it’s a completely normal world setting, and the characters will be as familiar as they can be from the source material. However, people are human here, and not all of them experienced the exact same trauma they did in the games. You’re probably going to ask me how Vergil is so yielding in this story, or how Dante is somehow more reasonable, too. Believe me, it’s on purpose for this AU. Their dad isn’t weird and their parents raised them well.  
> 

“You are declaring a change of major, from theater to… civil engineering?” The advisor looked across her desk at the young undergrad before her. 

Undergraduates changing their major within or just after the first year was very common. But it wasn’t often to have a student declare a change from humanities to engineering. This was a complete change of colleges.

She had perused Dante Sparda’s transcript from high school. He had surprisingly high marks for his math and sciences. Not the most diligent but a good head on his shoulders. But as an advisor, she knew full well that being good at something doesn’t always equate to passion. 

“This is a drastic decision to make. And a lot of review will need to be done to see if you’ll even be accepted into a different college. Is there a reason for this? What I mean is, it is ultimately your decision to give this change a shot, but you seemed to be doing very well, right here.”

Well, he was. Until about the last month. Dante had dark circles under his eyes and he looked like a complete mess. Something must have happened, and she considered the need to send him to a counselor, first. 

“Funeral’s next week…” He muttered without context. 

Ah, that answered the part about why he looked so harrowed. But it still didn’t answer the question about his sudden decision to change majors. 

“My condolences, Mr. Sparda.”

Dante snorted. “Don’t. I’m sure you’ve heard it before but that would be my dad. Or you might be referring to my brother.”

Yes. Sometimes formalities only made things confusing. “I’m sorry to hear that, Dante. If you need to take a semester off from school, we can accommodate that. There is no need to…”

“I'm going to need to get into work. Dad owns a civil engineering and inspections company, so I have an idea of the ins and outs of this stuff. I just need a degree and as many early certifications as I can pass, so that I can start work.”

So, a family obligation then, in light of a family death? It is hardly fair on the young man, and she couldn’t help but ask: “Are you certain this is the direction you want to go? It is admirable of you, but it’s never good for you or your family if you’re sacrificing your own passions for things.”

But Dante shook his head. “It’s not entirely about passion. I chose it because dad gave me the option to do something other than the family business. But that means I also have the option to choose the family business.” He paused, and then broke down: “I need to do this. For my brother. His wife…” 

She waited for him to continue. Clearly this was something weighing heavily on him. Depending on the situation, she might need to recommend him to counseling. 

“Sera passed away last month. Complications with… childbirth. Now Verge is both heartbroken and left with twin boys to take care of. I know he’s not going to be very happy with my decision but…

“He’s stubborn. Prideful. But he’s not invincible. And Vitale… we already lost his mom. Kid isn’t as healthy as his brother. We don’t know how good the odds are but if Verge loses him, too, then I don’t know what that’s going to do to him. Mom and pops of course won’t leave anyone in the family to their own devices, but…” 

He buried his head and face into his hands. “He’s going to try and handle all of this alone. I just know it. He’s going to try and he’s going to get hurt if I let him. He still has _school_ to finish. And he’s my stupid twin. I can’t just sit by and continue on like this has nothing to do with me. The idiot is trying to major in both accounting and marketing at once. It can secure him a solid job in dad’s company for the long run, but right now he’s got two one-month-old kids and too much on his plate, and too much pride for his own good.”

Despite his left and right words on how his twin was “an idiot,” there was no doubt that Dante cared a lot. 

He also really ought to talk to someone for counseling, if he’s determined to be there for his brother. He wouldn’t do much good if he was also a mess going into this. 

“This is a little short notice, but we’ll see how we can get this worked out for you, okay?” She was already beginning to pull up the paperwork needed. 

The circumstances were tragic, truly. From the sounds of it, Dante’s brother really cared about this woman, if he had married her despite being so young. The advisor has heard a bit of Vergil, before. Some faculty and students of the college lamented at the fact that they couldn’t have both of the brothers in their midsts, especially for theater. Vergil was at a different college in a different part of the campus. The brothers didn’t even share a dorm building. Vergil visited Dante a number of times, and was known for a serious demeanor but with one wicked sense of humor. 

That a young man like him was married and expecting kids while doing a double-major still in his first year of college was…

Honestly she thought that might have been too much on anyone’s plate. 

* * *

A child’s first birthday was often more a celebration for the family that it was for the child’s own joy.

After all, at one year old, children wouldn’t really understand the celebration, let alone remember it. 

And there was much for the family to be joyful for. Both Nero and Vitale made it to the one year mark. 

Vitale was thriving, much to everyone’s relief. Nero will likely have a childhood with his twin at his side. 

Eva had baked a small cake, with a singular candle lit upon it. 

Dante saw this and couldn’t help but laugh. “Well, they wouldn’t care at this age, but think when they get older, that they’ll fight over things even when there’s two cakes set in front of them? Just like we did?”

Vergil’s smile was a bit of a tired one. “Sera had hoped these two would learn to share better. I intend to teach them to do better than we did as children, Dante.”

Everyone could tell how fatigued he was. Even though Eva gave the entire family her full attention, helping with her motherly ways, Vergil was, on some respects, possessive. 

Though the term “possessive” was not necessarily right either. In light of Sera’s passing, he could only fill the empty longing and sadness with the task of caring for his sons whenever he could. 

Not long after Nero and Vitale were born, when the new semester started and Dante’s change of majors finally came to light to Vergil, the brothers had a fight. Eva had known this was coming, and for once, as a mother, she was at a loss on how to best de-escalate this matter. And with the ensuing fight, she had a priority, and that was to shield the grandchildren far from the noise of their father’s and uncle’s fight. 

Spencer had known for a while that Eva was worried about the outcome of things. Thus, as another very rare instance in Vergil and Dante’s lives, their father broke his sappy and easy-going facade, and demanded his boys sit down and resolve the issue by his demands. 

Vergil had to face the music. Spencer understood that his eldest had a lot of pride, in being able to hold his own, in being capable, and being independent. But Spencer knew better than Vergil when pride had to be set aside, for the sake of one’s children.

“I don’t want to presume the thoughts of the dead, but the two of you grew up as childhood friends with Seraphina. I’m certain you both know her well enough to agree that she would not want to see the two of you fight, considering the amount of times she had broken up your fights. 

“You’re hurting. You’re both hurting, I know. And it hurts your mother and I to see you both like this. Neither of us fathomed that we would experience such a trifold of loss, where one of our sons would lose his beloved, the other loses his best friend, and our grandchildren lose their mother before they even get to know her.

“You’re both at the age of being reasonable adults now. I don’t think you need us to tell you what decision you both ought to come to. But think of Nero and Vitale, Vergil. This isn’t about proving your capabilities alone. I do not like to remind you of this, but you are only 20. There are still many years ahead, full of experiences that you cannot face alone. Dante isn’t the only one concerned about you. We all are, and Seraphina’s family and even the Eleisons have been concerned about your health.

“No one is trying to say that you are incapable of providing for your sons. But in order to do that, you need to first have the ability to take care of yourself, and you shouldn’t have to do that alone.”

Despite the reluctant agreement that later turned into relieved gratitude, studying for a double-major while being a single father to twins was tiring. And in light of Vitale’s poor health at first, Vergil was filled with anxiety. 

He could not bear the thought that he would lose one of the two most precious things Seraphina had left for him. She had made the choice, when things started looking bad, that the priority would be to save her other child. 

What would have hurt more? His reality of a life with their two children, without her? Or a reality in which she survives, but they mourn over the loss of their second born?

The ideal answer, of course, would be that all four of them could be together.

But the truth is that he’s now widowed at age 20, and a single father to two. 

The first year of adjustments were difficult. Though Sera and Vergil had initially agreed to live with his family for the first few years, and thus the house was already equipped for the arrival of the children, the lack of the children’s mother made things very difficult for him. 

His parents taught him everything they knew from experience, when they raised him and Dante. But Nero and Vitale were not Vergil and Dante. 

Vitale was sometimes too quiet. And prone to sleeping for longer periods than Nero. Vergil checked on the crib so often that he sometimes fell asleep in the nursery, concerned about the younger of the twins. 

And Nero would often wake when Vergil got close. Once he was more comfortable holding him, Vergil would pick Nero up as to not ignore him, and then gingerly reach down to check on Vitale. 

Months went by, and slowly, he was able to let out a breath of relief. 

And March comes around again. The day that he had lost his wife was coming closer…

But he vowed that he would never treat this day as a tragic event. 

It wasn’t fair to his sons, to mark their birthday like such. 

* * *

Nero and Vitale’s years as toddlers were full of different faces. 

The most of their time as babes was spent with their grandmother Eva. 

At every moment he could, Vergil read to them, something he had done since finding out his beloved was pregnant. Vitale often regarded him and the book with wide eyes, and giggled when a particular flow of words tickled his fancy. Nero would be interested for a little while, but only for so long. The older of the boys enjoyed more exciting things that could catch his attention, such as moving objects and sounds that weren’t from reading. And he would kick up a fuss if left bored for too long. 

(Vergil once chuckled to himself at the thought that Nero’s personality was already becoming apparent before the child was born. Often, as he read to both his wife and unborn children, there were interruptions of activity that Sera would try to sooth when the kicking and punching got too active. Perhaps that was mostly Nero.)

Once Nero’s patience began to wear thin, a number of things might happen. 

Often, Vitale would doze off, and Vergil would set the younger back into his crib, and give Nero some attention. Sadly, Nero wasn’t as easily entertained for long. Not by the things Vergil were more at ease with. Many times, when Dante wasn’t busy, he would come into the nursery and pick up his nephew while Vergil was reading with Vitale, and entertain him without interrupting. 

Spencer, too, enjoyed visiting the nursery during those times, though he would end up interrupting Vergil’s reading entirely in order to coo at the grandchildren. 

And Eva would pick up Nero, soothe him for a while, and then usher Vergil to come with her with Vitale in his arms, and take a walk out in the garden so that everyone could get some sun. 

Eventually, as the children grew to start crawling and later start running, Vergil took to having to do some of his homework outside. His mother said it would be good for him, anyway. 

The Eleisons started to come over often with their children, also. Kyrie was only a little older than Nero and Vitale, and eventually, Vergil could trust Credo to keep an eye on the playing children so long as they all stayed within adult supervision. 

Sometimes, Sera’s aunt, uncle, and cousin would visit. 

For a long while, Vergil wasn’t sure how to face them. 

They were the ones that raised Sera. She was no different from a daughter to her aunt and uncle. And Vergil couldn’t help but feel like he took her away from them, permanently. 

But they remained supportive of him. 

All of his family, and even their family friends, remained supportive of him. 

* * *

By the time Nero and V(itale) were school-aged, and Vergil was still working on the tail end of his Master’s degree, Dante was also working to be properly hired into the family company. It had incited momentary jealousy from Vergil, that Dante was getting into the proper work field before him, but he knew why Dante had been working hard to earn both his degree and his engineering certifications. 

Vergil’s goal was to eventually take over the business and developments departments in the family company. That was going to take time, and a lot of study. But Nero and V were going to need a lot more from him, financially, before he could even get to the point of working a steady job. 

Though his parents had assured him that they would _never_ let Nero and V go without, Vergil did not want to burden his parents or his brother with this financial responsibility forever. 

But finances aside, his two sons starting school was a different and new challenge to overcome. 

It didn’t take very long, before they one day asked about their mother. 

Though they spent a lot of time with Kyrie and Credo, and understood that there was a role called “mother,” it didn’t register to them that “everyone has a mother and a father.” 

Or, more precisely, most of their classmates said that everyone has a mother and a father. While that was strictly not true, it was enough to make the children ask their father: What does it mean, that mom is not with us anymore?

It wasn’t the most comfortable of topics. Vergil couldn’t give this explanation alone. He called Dante in a panic, without thinking of also asking his mother and father for advice. At the topic of Seraphina, Dante was at his side for every step of the way. He was the reason why Vergil was able to be friends with Sera. He was the reason why Vergil had the courage to ask her out. He was the reason why Vergil was able to marry his childhood sweetheart. 

So Dante arrived with pillows and blankets and hot chocolate for all, his usual teasing and joking demeanor set aside, to help his brother explain to the children that all things had their end. 

Though they hid from the children the truth of how Sera died, by the end of the night, when they tucked two teary-eyed children into bed, Dante said to Vergil:

“Well, they’re certainly more sensitive than you are, emotionally speaking. Didn’t think Little V was going to bawl like that, over such a simple explanation. You know that, one day, you’ll have to also tell them the circumstances of her death, right?”

“I want to put it off as long as possible.” Too tired to rise to Dante’s half-hearted teasing over his emotional state as a child, he was more prone to speaking what was on his mind right now. “I do not want either of them to think that they are the reason for her passing.”

Dante patted him gently on the shoulder. “When the time is right, I’m sure they will understand. You should put up some more pictures of her, you know. I’m sure mom can spare the old photos from the albums for a few photo frames. Let the kids at least have a face to recognize.”

Still, the sadness in everyone left an impression on the kids. 

The next morning, Nero and V dug out their crayons and paper, and delivered to their father a picture:

It was, of course, a picture drawn by children. But the interpretation was what mattered: a family gathered under a rainbow, with Eva, Spencer, Vergil, Dante, Nero, and Vitale. And sitting at the top of the rainbow was an angel: Seraphina Valkyrie.

Eva framed this picture, and Vergil kept it near his study desk.

* * *

Spencer shuffled absently through some paperwork as Vergil sat in one of the chairs in his study. 

“You are certain you want to work in the family company?”

“It feels a little illogical that you would question that, father. Would you rather me find work elsewhere?”

Spencer could only chuckle, and settled the papers back onto his desk. “Not at all. I simply wanted to make sure you are prepared to come into the same workplace that your brother will be in. Despite you aiming for a different department, Dante will still be an inescapable presence as a coworker. Of course, we are a family owned company. There will be no problems with a bit of familiar interaction, but one must still learn how to prioritize and when to distinct work and life.”

“I have been prepared for this since Dante announced his change in majors. We are not teenagers who fight over our school science projects anymore, father.” He smirked as he jested. 

“Ah, but sometimes, those were the days, weren’t they? Well, we’ll have you go through all the paperwork and typical motions needed for new-hires, but I’m certain you will be fine, not because you’re my son, but because you have what it takes. We’ll have you familiarize yourself starting at the accounting department, first, with Matier. And then you can shadow Morrison and have him teach you everything you need to know about the business and developments department. He has been considering retirement, soon, and he has been putting it off for your arrival to the company.”

Despite knowing this day would come, Vergil couldn’t help but feel relieved. Though he could have started work once he finished his first four years of school, Dante was the one who urged him to not spread himself too thin with both Master’s studies, raising kids, and work. “Get through those two years for your education smoothly, instead of prolonging it because you have to work.” Dante had told him. 

“The kids are still growing and in a few years you’re also going to have more on your hands. Remember when mom and dad had to find time to take us to our after school activities? I don’t know about V, but Nero’s definitely going to get himself signed up for a sport as soon as he can. You can’t tell me he won’t. Yeah, I’ll be happy to drive them like the good Uncle I am, but there are going to be events regarding them you’re gonna want to be there for, and I’m not a replacement for their dad being there.”

At the time, Vergil had glared at him, unhappy that Dante was acting like he didn’t think of these things, already. And he agreed, rushing into work then might have been too much. 

He resolved on his first check that he was going to take his sons out to visit the large and fancy aquarium in the big city, and the zoo there; the former for Nero’s pointed interests in sharks, and the later for V’s interests in non-aquatic animals. 

* * *

With Vergil having to start work, this did mean that he would be home less often. And in light of Eva being the company’s concierge, she had tasks to do at the company, also. 

In the past, she simply shifted her schedule to make sure Vergil didn’t have class while she was gone, or if there was an hour or so where no one could be home, Mrs. Eleison would always lend a hand with watching Nero and V until Vergil came home from class, or until Eva came home from the company. 

When Dante had started work as a field tech, it meant that he could be issued a company truck. The car that he and Vergil had shared since high school (which was unfortunately red because Vergil lost the bet in their competition to determine who gets to pick out the car) was now used more often by Vergil to get to his classes since he decided to live off-campus, and and recently for picking up his sons from elementary school. 

Vergil was determined to buy himself a new car as soon as finances were stable enough for him. But that was a thought for later. 

Though his work shift comfortably started after he could drop the kids off at school, the work day does not end before the kids get off school. Thankfully, they went to the same school as Kyrie Eleison, so Nero and Vitale would spend their after-school time with the Eleison until Vergil, Dante, or Eva could pick them up from their friends’ house. 

Still, there would be days where school was off or would be released early, and they couldn’t expect the Eleison to always accommodate extra children into their plans. 

But the company did allow parents to bring their young children to work, so long as the children behave. 

So, within the first month of work, Vergil was at the reluctant juncture of bringing the boys to his work place for the first time. As of current, though he had been introduced to Morrison, he needed to start his familiarization of the company through the accounting department, so he was working under Matier for the time being. 

Nero and Vitale knew how to be well-behaved when they needed to be, though they had been curious for a while now about where their grandpa, their uncle, and now their father worked. 

And as for the office itself… only the higher-up employees and some of their other relatives knew of Vergil’s situation. There were still plenty of employees of the office who weren’t in the family circle who didn’t know that he was a parent, so with that said…

The morning was quiet at first, as Vergil came through the employee entrance with the two kids in tow. Nero was already wide awake and curious, whereas Vitale did not enjoy waking up as early as his brother, so he took advantage of his father being soft-hearted by having himself be carried into the office. 

Dante wasn’t in the office yet, having an early 5AM start out at the field. But Morrison was already in, and the elder man grinned when he saw the trio. 

“Well, would ya look at that. Didn’t think we’d be seeing you bring the kiddos in so soon.”

“It was a necessity.” Vergil explained as plainly as possible. “School is out for today.”

“Well, this is a family company and all. You’re not the first one to bring kids to work on occasion and you won’t be the last. Hey there, little guy. The name’s Morrison. And which of the twins are you?” Morrison chuckled and greeted Nero, who excitedly greeted him with his answer. This exchange finally got V to be more awake, and pretty soon, as more workers trickled into the office, Vergil almost considered this morning to be a disaster.

The other women of the office, some of whom Vergil still hadn’t learnt their names yet, were delighted and also surprised at the presence of the two boys. He didn’t think he'd felt this abashed since he and Sera had revealed to others about Sera’s pregnancy, but now the feeling was returning as his coworkers overwhelmed him with questions and polite praise alike. (Though, he will not deny that his children are adorable. For the time being, Nero and V have yet to be embarrassed for being called cute and the likes, either.)

Modesto, his older cousin who works in the accounting department, was the one that came to his rescue, and managed to bring him and the kids back to the “safety” of the quieter accountings office. 

Matier simply grinned at Vergil as the kids finally settled into an activity that would keep them entertained by a few hours at most. (Or, at least, where Nero was concerned. He brought a handheld video game. V brought three books that could last him the whole day.)

“Well, well. That simply breaks your entire air of mystery as the serious new-hire of the office. There’s no going back now, boy.” She teased. 

“Do not…” Vergil wanted to protest at being called “boy” but in truth, Matier was old enough to be his grandmother. Nero already had his headphones in and his head buried in his video game. But Vitale had glanced up briefly from his book, having only rarely seen his father react similarly towards teasing from Uncle Dante.

She cackled, and reached up to pat Vergil’s shoulder, which was difficult because she was very short. “Time to get to work.”

As the months turned into years, Nero and Vitale didn’t just regularly end up at the company on early off-days or days of no school, but also began to learn which employees would play with them, which ones would give them treats on the occasion, and which ones they could bug for things if their dad was busy with a task. Whenever Dante came back from the field to get started on paperwork, the kids would run up to him in excitement, and Dante’s laughter as he greeted the kids was always an infectious joy in the office. 

On the occasion that Spencer is in the office and not overly busy, he’d spend some time entertaining his grandkids in his office, too. This left Vergil some relief to get his work done without distraction. And when Eva was finished with her concierge tasks, she would sometimes take the children home early. 

Somehow, this family scene is what broke a lot of ice for Vergil among his coworkers. But he didn’t stop maintaining the need for a serious attitude when there’s a need for it, and that on its own also earned him some measure of work respect.

He also brought the framed picture his kids drew of the family portrait with the rainbow, and had it hanging on his section of the wall behind his desk.

* * *

At age 8, V one day sat down by his father asked:

“Why is my brother named Nero, and I’m Vitale?” 

This question incited a lot of memories from Vergil. There was a time in which he and Dante had asked their parents the same question. 

But for Nero and Vitale, this answer was a weight in Vergil’s heart. 

“Your mother chose your brother’s name. Nero refers to strength and power. Before the two of you were born, she referred to the two of you as cubs at times, as I would call her… my lioness.”

“And what about my name?”

“I chose it for you. It means ‘life.’” Originally he had intended on the name Rodin. But perhaps it was for the better, that he didn’t name his younger son that. It was not a name that fit well with the times. But the name Vitale was given as a wish. A talisman, so to speak. He wanted Vitale to survive, as he almost lost him along with Sera on the day the children were born. 

“Power, and Life…” V nodded. “That’s pretty cool. I thought maybe you got our names from books, like how Grandma and Grandpa named you and Uncle Dante after poets. Uncle Dante doesn’t even like poetry!”

At that, Vergil smiled. “That’s not entirely true. Your Uncle Dante only likes specific kinds of poetry. His favorites are always the funny ones or the kinds from his favorite old playwrights. Did you know that your Uncle used to do theater?”

“Like, movies?” V knit his brow, adorable confusion flitting across his face as he misunderstood the kind of theater Vergil spoke of. 

“Not quite. The sort that happens on a stage.” 

Vitale’s understanding had him utter a drawn out “O.”

“That makes sense! He’s always very dramatic when he’s part of our family reading sessions!”

Yes. For Dante’s presence, Vergil would have to yield to readings of things that were more suitable for Dante’s participation. As the years went by, the childrens’ personalities also became even more apparent. 

V enjoyed spending quieter times with his father, sometimes to read, or to just enjoy being there as Vergil worked on something. They didn’t neglect to spend time with Nero, of course. Nero always had so much more energy, and was proving to be very sporty. The next thing Vergil knew, he and Dante began teaching Nero the basics of their childhood sport: baseball. 

(As hobbies went, Vergil and Dante were somewhat infamous in the high school baseball scene. But it was less of a passion and more of a good place to compete against each other in terms of performance.)

The younger of the children only had passing interest regarding the game, however. After trying it a few times, he wasn’t particularly interested in the sport itself. But he never minded trying to race his older twin, so despite V not _playing_ baseball half of the time, one thing leads to another, and the next thing they knew, the two of them will be racing each other for any number of reasons to see who gets to where first. 

For Vergil, it was a relief to see that V had the energy to put towards these kinds of activities. He had been afraid the younger twin who was born frail would remain in frail health for the rest of his life, which could potentially cause a rift between the twins in terms of how they get treated and how they would treat each other. 

But Nero and V were good kids. They had their differences, and have echoed a few of Vergil and Dante’s squabbles over books and play before, but they sought out each other for activities they enjoyed together, instead of perpetuating a fight over it. 

In some respects, this made Vergil feel somewhat ashamed of his younger self. (And a childish part of it still maintains it was mostly Dante’s fault they were like that.)

Yet, now, they did still get along, didn’t they? So instead, Vergil mentally made an apology to his own parents for having been a difficult child alongside his brother, and thanked Sera’s spirit for these two wonderful boys in his life.

* * *

When Nero and V are 12, Nero finally couldn’t help but bring up a question that had been plaguing him for years, but was still too afraid to ask. So he brought it up to his brother, first: “V, about mom…”

Though V was looking to join the middle school track and field team, that didn’t mean he abandoned the comfort of books. As he read, Nero was playing the game system that they were supposed to share. (Though, many days V was content to read and occasionally glance up to see where Nero was at in the game, and give him direction both genuine and ingenuine depending on his mood, to either help Nero with a level or just to see him fail or mess up.)

The question was brought up while Nero was paused in the game he was playing, and V knew exactly why Nero was bringing this up now. While this wasn’t the first story-driven game they’ve played that involved a character’s mother dying or having died, the question about _their_ mother did still circle in their minds. 

“Do you think it’s true that she died?”

This was not the direction V thought his brother was going to take. The book in his lap was forgotten as he stared at Nero. 

Their father had never given them a reason to believe he would lie to them, before. 

But doubt can spread fast. 

“W-why would you think that?” He dared to ask. 

“It’s just… don’t people usually care about an anniversary of death or something? You know…” He had never heard their father mention it, and one day, when Nero was thinking about “death anniversaries” due to some game or comic or something else he’s been in contact with, he thought he had forgotten when their mother died…

When he suddenly realized their father never told them, or made any indication of such an event having happened every year. 

The way V’s eyes widened showed that he followed his train of thought. His younger twin’s voice trembled as he questioned: “But what does this _mean_ , Nero?”

Rubbing his nose nervously, Nero could only continue saying what he was thinking: “Maybe she didn’t want us. Maybe something happened and she left, but dad won’t admit it so he’d rather tell us she’s dead.”

The twins knew that their father loved them. They never doubted that. And they had their Uncle Dante, and Grandma Eva, and “Gramps” whom they rarely referred to as “Grandpa Spencer.” 

They only had memories of meeting their mother’s supposed family a handful of times. Brief visits from them during one or two holidays or birthdays. All meetings that were too short and shallow-impressioned for their young minds to take as proof against their doubt. 

“But why…” Why would their mother leave them, if that was the truth?

Of course, neither child had the answer to that. So V asked: “Should we ask dad?”

“Do you really think he’ll tell us?”

“We don’t _know_ if he lied to us, Nero!” 

V had always trusted their father, and Nero realized momentarily that V was right. He shouldn’t be jumping to conclusions from his own imagination. 

“Do you think we _could_ ask dad?” He whispered. 

After a little while, V whispered back: “...Maybe we could ask Uncle Dante, first?”

It was hard to find a chance to catch Dante alone and away from the rest of the family. After all, everyone all lived in the same spacious house. Vergil had once asked the boys if they liked the thought of moving into a place of their own, just the three of them, but the twins couldn’t fathom living away from their wonderful grandparents and their amazing (a description that makes Vergil sigh) uncle. So, Vergil had dashed the thought. 

The kids caught Dante outside of the house enjoying a beer, and when they were sure no one else was around to overhear the question, they asked their uncle the question that was on their minds: “Did mom leave us because she didn’t love us?”

They stared up at him nervously as Dante almost dropped his can of beer, a fearful expression of shock on his face. Kneeling down to answer them, he asked: “Why do you think your mother didn’t love you?”

At first, Dante misunderstood the question. He and Vergil had spoken to the boys many times about their mother, and how she was a fantastic person, including her merits and awards as a gymnast when they were encouraging Nero’s want to play baseball in school, along with V’s interest in the track and field team. They told them how much she would have been proud of them, and would have loved them.

When it became apparent that her death didn’t really sink in, and that the boys thought maybe she had _left_ them in a less permanent manner, Dante’s heart sank. 

It was understandable, that as children who did not have a single memory of their mother, they might question the validity to the reason of her absence. 

And in this toxic hope, Dante knew that he and Vergil were going to have to break the boy’s hearts in order to clear out this poison. 

“I’m sorry, kiddos. But there was no lie there. Seraphina was my best friend. Like how Kyrie and Credo are your best friends. I wouldn’t lie about the reason behind her absence. I miss her, too, in my own way.” He then tsked, trying to think of how to deal with this. “We might need to talk to Verge more about this. This answer doesn’t satisfy you, does it?”

And it was Nero who got to the point, almost angrily: “Then why doesn't anyone talk about her death? What happened? Why does it seem like dad, and even you, don’t care?”

Maybe it was because they were too young, and still trying to sort through turbulent emotions, that they couldn’t interpret Dante and Vergil’s reminiscence of Sera’s past to the boys as them caring about her absence. To the kids, they needed more clear-cut evidence in the answer to when and how their mother died, and why this date was never mentioned or observed.

Dante sighed. This wasn’t going to be easy. 

“We do care. But we’ll need your dad here, in order to answer all of your questions.”

So, the inevitable happened. Dante situated the kids in the living room, and went to find Vergil in their father’s study, that they now shared. When he explained circumstances and told Vergil that they ought to give them an answer, Vergil almost got into a fresh fight with Dante. And the brothers hadn’t truly fought in a long while, ever since Dante’s change in studies. 

Eva had been in the study at the time casually chatting with Vergil when Dante came in, and she was the one that soothed the situation, and agreed that, though it was going to be a heart-wrenching conversation, they were going to have to tell the children the truth. 

She told them to have the living room to themselves, and that she and Spencer will try to let them handle this. Sometimes, having an extra generation meddle in things would only make things more muddled. 

Reluctantly, Vergil ended up finding himself seated in the living room, sitting across from his children as opposed to among them, with Dante at his side instead. It was like an interrogation.

“Would knowing really be better?” He asked them softly.

“What am I supposed to think if I don’t know?” Nero looked like he was on the verge of tears, unable to figure out how to feel about this entire situation anymore.

And V calmly supplemented: “Her death is an important part of her story, right? Shouldn’t we get to know?”

And for a long while, Vergil still remained silent and reluctant, hands entwined as he was hunched over and gazing down at them. Dante wasn’t even sitting haphazardly this time, though he was leaned back into the couch, dreading every passing second of this. 

“Dad?” Nero prompted again. 

Slowly, with bits and pieces, Vergil brought himself to explain to the children that her death occurred due to medical reasons, and that even the doctors could not save her. But the boys were more perceptive now that they were older, and they knew that their father was withholding information. 

“Verge, you can’t keep beating around the bush.” Dante sighed. This earned a glare from Vergil. 

“You try explaining this matter to them. They are 12 but they are still children.”

“We’re right here, dad.” Nero quipped in annoyance. 

“It is but the truth…” V murmured. 

Vergil sighed. 

And V found it in himself to realize something, and asked the titular question: “I know this makes both of you sad. But why is it hard to tell us what it was that the doctors couldn’t save her from? And why are you not telling us when she died?”

Vergil had deflected the question too many times. He knew this. But he still couldn’t bring himself to tell them. Would it be better, if he made Dante do it?

But then, what would that make him? A coward who could not face the truth of the situation, when it was his responsibility to tell them. 

“The day your mother died is… not observed, because it was the day of your birth.” He finally answered. 

Nero immediately started to fidget, feeling uncomfortable at this revelation. “Um, wait, you mean…” He began to rub his hands together nervously. “You didn’t want to tell us because… I don’t get it, mom died when we were born?” At the very moment, the exact specifics of “where babies come from” eluded Nero. The vague understanding he had been taught so far was that babies grew in mom’s bellies, and they come out when they are ready. (On the more specific question of “how does a baby end up in mommy’s belly in the first place,” the answer had been “it’s something a mother and a father decides to make happen” ended by “you’ll know more when you’re older.” The very brief fifteen minute video on sexual maturity at the end of elementary school didn’t really stick well enough for a connection to be made yet.)

Dante thought he’d relieve his brother of some of this awkward and solemn topic by explaining: “Things don’t always turn out perfect. Kids aren’t… easy…” He trailed off, realizing that he really didn’t know how to help this explanation along.

V had been quiet since the revelation, and while Nero tried to understand what he was hearing with a scrunched up expression, V whispered: “Did mom die because of us?”

The horror on Vergil’s face as he finally looked up at his sons sitting across from him was unmistakable. “No. No, do not think that. Your mother, she…”

Dante lightly kicked at Vergil’s ankle. “Get up, damnit.” He hissed. 

His brother gave him both a confused and annoyed expression for being interrupted. 

“Get up and go over to them. You are not having this conversation while seated across from each other like it’s an interrogation. Come on.” Dante got up and forcefully pulled Vergil by the arm. Vergil stumbled to his feet, and wanted to argue, but thought better and complied to the action. 

Pretty soon, Vergil managed to seat himself between Nero and V, and Dante opted not to sit near them, but walk around to lean against the back of the couch instead. 

Taking a deep breath, Vergil started with: “Never… promise me that you will never let the thought that your mother died because of you enter your minds again. Perish it. Do you promise me?”

Though Nero nodded with a small manner of fear, having seen how spooked Vergil was acting, V only nodded once, solemnly. 

“Listen carefully…” Vergil pulled them in close. “There are many times in life where things are simply beyond our control. I would wish to have her back with us, but that is simply not what came to pass. On the day the two of you were born, things could have gone much worse. We could have lost Sera and Vitale both. Or, worse yet, all three of you. Do you understand now, how much you mean to me?”

V was the first one to sniffle and reach his arms around Vergil as best he could in order to bury his face into his shirt. Nero hunched down and nervously wrung his hands while in his father’s embrace. 

“She was hurt?” Nero asked. 

It really didn’t describe perfectly the situation, but no one was going to explain to the boys at this age what childbirth complications were. 

“She was hurt, but she wanted to make sure the two of you survived, no matter what.” Was the simple explanation. And it was still, on many levels, the truth.

And seeing that the children have finally received an acceptable answer, Dante sighed and heave himself off from leaning against the back of the couch. “I’ll leave you three be for a while. Glad it’s all sorted out now. And for what it’s worth, kiddos… everyone did everything they could. But Sera made her priorities clear. The priority was you kids, and she did it because she loved you, 'kay?”

* * *

Not long after Nero and V had gotten their answers about their mother, Dante brought something up to Vergil:

“Hey Verge, remember how we grew up with Nowell?”

Nowell was the family’s large black border collie, who passed away when they were in high school. He lived a long life for a dog, and was a good companion to the two of them.

It wasn’t hard to follow Dante’s train of thought, and eventually, they talked about it with their parents, since this was still their house. 

It was agreed that a new pet would be a good idea for Nero and V. But having them come to a decision might be hard. 

As it turns out, it wasn’t as hard as they thought it was going to be. Nero wasn’t very interested in what kind of pet it would be unless he was being allowed an aquarium. Meanwhile, V really wanted a kitten. 

Well, fish and cats might be an odd combination unless they made sure to get an aquarium the cat couldn’t get into, but the family managed to figure something out. Though Nero was hoping for something fancy, tropical fish and the likes were a little outside of the pet-care budget. He settled for a medium tank of cherry barbs, however.

And Vitale picked out a completely black kitten and named her Shadow. 

Dante took one look at the kid with the kitten in his lap, and withheld the old joke of black cats being bad luck. “Isn’t the name Shadow a bit too on the nose?”

But V simply smiled, indicating that he wasn’t going to budge on the matter. 

* * *

Years went by, and many things happened. 

Nero and V befriended a transfer student, Nico. She was a sharp girl who was younger than them but skipped a grade, and thus were in many of their classes together, eventually befriending them and Kyrie, though she didn’t get along the best with Credo for a long while. 

Vitale… befriended a large crow who was too smart for his own good. He named the crow “Griffon” and though Griffon did not live in a cage in the house, the large crow was always nearby V. Nero at one point called his brother a witch in jest, so for the next three Halloween events, V dressed himself in some manner of witchly look… or warlock, if you would. He didn’t care what to call it, but after the first time, he seemed to have taken a liking to the gothic look, and eventually asked Vergil if it was okay to consider dying his hair. 

This had thrown Vergil in for a loop. At the time, Dante was in the room with them, and so he glanced at his brother. 

Dante laughed. “What? You thinking about that one time I dyed my hair black? I looked _awful_. Regretted it. But hey, your kiddo could probably pull it off.”

On that matter, Vitale was already beginning to develop a preference towards black for his clothing and accessories, and Vergil was seeing the inevitable stubbornness in his younger son: that he would not be talked out of the style he had chosen for himself. Reluctantly, Vergil agreed, because he did not think it was worth making his son upset over an argument in personal tastes. Though, truth be told, Vergil was quite partial to the colour black when he was younger, too. 

V hadn’t told Nero about this decision for once, opting to surprise his twin. Eva helped him with the first time he dyed his hair while Nero was at baseball practice, and when Nero came home, he was shocked, then laughed, and then teased his brother with: “Shadow could blend into your hair now!”

And as for Nero, it was becoming very clear that he was sweet on Kyrie. The kid would turn red if anyone so much as insinuates that he likes her “like that,” but it was clear as day. Spencer had once brought it up to the family sans the kids’ presence, casually: “Well, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, does it? He’s clearly smitten with his childhood friend.”

“Father.” Vergil was slightly embarrassed, as the teasing was somewhat directed towards him. But he smiled, and said: “They’re only 14. I cannot bear to be thinking of what happens after the next few years, just yet.”

Eva couldn’t help but stifle a laugh. “Ah… and it felt like it wasn’t too long ago that you and Dante were just graduating high school.” She began to get teary-eyed. 

Truly, time did pass by fast when you have so much of it look back on.

* * *

Nero was 16 now. To his parents and grandparents, they would all say that time went by so fast. But for him, his brother, and their peers, they would say that their life had only just begun. 

It was an early day off school today, and V took the car to go to the library with Nico. Nico may be a “genius” who skipped a single grade, but it was for that very reason that she was not old enough to get her permit or driver’s license yet. 

So, Nero asked Credo a favor, and Credo dropped Nero off at the company doors. 

Many things have changed around in the office since he had first seen it. Over the years, there have been a few faculty changes. Dante went through a few promotions and was now a Senior Engineer and Lead Supervisor. Nero couldn’t remember when it happened, but Morrison did finally retire at some point and Vergil took over his department as planned. 

Matier also retired fairly early on, and Modesto was the one lined up for the Head of Accounting. There were eventually some other new faces that became permanent fixtures, such as the woman named Mary who refused to go by anything other than “Lady,” and then there were familiar faces that also wound up in the company, such as Dante and Vergil’s other cousin, Trish. 

Today, Nero was stopping by because he had a food container to return. 

A few days ago, a coworker had brought pasta for his dad and his uncle. It came with a story, too, about how said co-worker had spilled their lunch and this was to make up for it, but Dante’s pasta specifically had olives in it. So of course, his uncle didn’t eat it.

Now, Nero actually _liked_ olives. His father and uncle had always joked saying Nero and V’s mother was to blame for the kids actually liking the “terrible atrocity that was the olive.” So, he took the food so that it wouldn’t go to waste.

Vergil was on the phone with a client when he arrived, though, so Nero lingered at the door and waited. He glanced around, bored, and noticed that, still, his father had the crayon picture that he and his brother drew when they were 6. 

Man, it was embarrassing to see that now. While Nero would _like_ to say they could do better now, the truth was, maybe only V could do better, and only with pencil sketches. Nero could try all he likes, but he only learned to admire art as opposed to doing art himself. (After all, art and music were the things Kyrie was passionate about, so he still held it as important in his heart.)

Nero took a deep breath as he took a moment longer to stare at the picture. 

When Vergil got off his phone call, Nero asked… more like he stated: “You said mom liked pasta a lot, too, didn’t she? Think she would have liked this pasta?”

“She wasn’t entirely picky about pasta. She probably would have liked it.” Vergil noticed that Nero was staring at the framed picture, and smiled as he gazed at it for a moment, too. “She ate whatever pasta I made, after all. Though I couldn’t ever make it as well as your grandmother.”

Nero laughed. “Well, this was pretty good. Person who made it has a nice vindictive sense of humor, too. Though if they really wanted to get back at Dante, they could have just ordered pizza with olives on it.”

He loved his uncle, but as a family, Nero was with Vergil when it comes to giving Dante hell once in a while. 

“Well, they are fairly new. You know how it is. Dante’s is more approachable and fairly easy to get a feel for what he likes and dislikes. Their revenge also entailed making up for spilling my lunch container, and I never announced what my favorite pizza toppings are.”

And so, Nero rolled his eyes. “Dad, you don’t have a favorite pizza.”

“Exactly. Now, unfortunately, the work day hasn’t ended yet. Did you need something, Nero?” 

He could see his father’s gaze flick towards his laptop, probably in need of getting to a task. “Just to say hi, and ask who I should return this container to. I washed it and everything.”

“That’s very kind of you. Kyrie will be a very lucky girl, since it seems you’ll do the dishes.” Vergil teased.

“Dad!” He couldn’t really retort more beyond that. The one who’s lazy about doing dishes in their house was Dante. 

Satisfied with the short amount of time he had to interact with Nero, Vergil smiled and finally gave an answer to let Nero be on his way: “They’re in the scheduling department, so you may ask Trish.”

“Cool. Seeya later, dad.”

With one last glance at the photo, Nero turned to head to the scheduling department. 

In truth, all the adults in the family were fairly busy. Gramps was talking about maybe retiring in a year or two, which meant there was a hush-hush discussion on what that means for the company. Regardless of if the ownership of the company goes to Vergil or Dante, Nero knew that, from as far as he could remember, both his father and his uncle worked very hard to provide for Nero and V. 

And as Nero got older, he also had the understanding that Dante wasn’t obligated to go this hard at it, just for them. 

In the 16 years of Nero and V’s life, they were grateful for all the things they could have in life, and being the good children they were, they eventually came to be concerned for their elders. (Even, if, Nero’s relationship with Dante seemed outwardly less than cordial.)

The end of their high school years were coming up fast. Soon, they would be in college, and mostly likely won’t be staying at home anymore, either. Vitale might not even go to a local college, opting to look for a school more suitable for vet studies. 

Was it out of place for the boys to have concerns about how their father and uncle would fare on their own? Grandma Eva, though spry for her age, should eventually take it easier, too. 

Nero knew the echoing wish of “if only mother was here to make sure dad will be okay” was moot at this point. 

So he could only settle for the next best thought: I could accept a step-parent, right?

**Author's Note:**

> \- I made myself cry twice when I was writing this.  
> \- It’s heartbreaking to kill my own OC, by the way. But if I wanted to write a Vergil x Reader x Dante series, but not make things weird, my options were either Vergil is divorced or Vergil is widowed. But I didn’t want to deal with ex-wife drama (and I don’t imagine Nero’s mother to be someone who deserves or wanted divorce.)  
> \- I seriously considered having Vitale remain somewhat frail, but gosh… I’d rather he be healthy enough to keep up with Nero. Losing their mom is bad enough. Didn’t want to deal an even worse hand to the kiddos.  
> \- Apparently, during development, Capcom had first considered "Rodin" for Nero's name. I'm pretty glad they decided on Nero instead.  
> \- As for the “food” thing at the end of this story… want to know what that’s about? Well, give the next story in the series a peek!


End file.
